Street sweeping apparatus



June 7, LL

STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS .Original Filed May 26, 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet lJune 7, 1932. T BRDSALL 1,861,681

STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS Original Filed May 26, 1924 7 Shets-Sheet 2fly MM M June 7, 1932. E. T. BIRDSALL STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS Original Filed May 26, 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Tmw 1,---

June 7, 1932.

E. T. BERDSALL 1,861,681

STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed May 26, 1924Original Fild May 26, 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 JJMMW June 7, 1932. TB|RD$ALL 1,861,681

STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS Original Filed y 26, 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 O OO June 7, 1932. E. T. BIRDSALL STREET SWEEPING APPARATUS 1924 7SheetsSheet 7 Original Filed May 26,

Patented June 7, 1932 U N l T ED S TATES rarest @ESFWE EDWARD T.BIBIDSALL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T THE BUTLER MANIT- EAC'IURINGCOMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, .A CORPORATION OHIO STREET 'SWEEPINGAPPARATUS Application filedMay 26, 1924, Serial No. 715,881. RenewedApril 6, 1931 This invention relates .to street sweeping machines, andmore particularly to machines of the pneumatic or vacuum type which arepropelled along the streets and which, as they travel :therealong, sweepup the refuse, separate the lighter particles of refuse from the air,and discharge the cleansed air into the atmosphere, and collect therefuse. One of the general objects of the invention is to provide apractical, sa=n1-. tary and dustless machine of this character which iscapable of sweeping the streets efficiently, without theneed ofsprayingor wet-.

ting the streets before the sweeping operation and without the need ofspraying or treating the material after it is taken .into themachine-the machine, however, being capable of use in either dry or wetweather. Other general objects of the invention are: to provide amachine which is capable -of operating in close proximity to the curbsand of removing rubbish efliciently from the gutters alongside suchcurbs; to providean improved means for driving, from :the crank, orengine, shaft, the various operating parts of the machine; to provide a'sim'ple,- efficient and strong construction of frame or chassis forsuch sweepers; to provide efficient means for mounting and adjusting'the broom; to provide an improved mounting for thebroomhousing; and, toprovide an improved construction and arrangementof parts for handlingthe material separated from the dustladen air. Further and morelimitedaobjects of the invention will appear hereinafter fand wlll berealized in and through theconstruction and arrangement of the partsshown in the drawings, wherein Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of asweeping machine constructed in accordance with my invention; 2 asectional side elevation of such :ma chine. the chassis being shown inelevation; Fig. 3 a plan view, and Fig. 4 asideelevation, of the frameor chassis; Fig. 5a detail in section corresponding to the line 5"5 ofFig. 3; Fig. '6 a sectional plan view showing 'the mechanism fortransmitting the drive from the engine or crankshaft to the rear wheelsand to the various sweeper mechanisms of the machine; Fig. 7adiagrammatic view of the rear portion of the machine, illustrating thelllctIlDi-IIilll which the frame is ofiset onthe right hand 'or curbside thereof for access 'of the broom .to curbs and gutters; 'Fig. 8 aplanview of the hoppers which collect the llglltIIGfllS separated fromthe dust-laden air, the door-closing;springs being omitted;

Fig. 9a sectional view corresponding to the line 99 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 adetail in section showing :the manner of constructing and "mounting theend of the arms which close the hopper doors; and 'Fig. 11 adiagrammatic plan view showing the means for raising and lowering thebroom.

.Describing 'the various parts by reference characters, A represents atruck or carriage which is adapted to 'be propelled along the ground orstreet in the usual manner; that is to say, by means of an engine X,drlve or wihich the rubbish and the dust-laden air are conducted, theendless belt or conveyor which handles the rubbish, the tubes which"separate the dusty material from the air, and the'hoppers into whichsuch material is delivered. I

"Proj ecting rearwardly from and constituting extensions of the housingB are the fan housing C and the broom housing D. 'The housing D is ofappropriate shape for the mount-ing therein of the rotary broom E, thecasing being open at the bottom and being flexibly connectedto thehousing B bymeans of a bellows-like connection E. The housing D ismovably supported by means of a il-shaped frame F, the front ends of thearms of the frame being pivoted to the rear ends of the chassis sidemembers 7, as indicated at- F'. This frame is riveted or otherwisesuitably secured to the housin'gand the rear of the frame carries casterwheel 8 at each side thereof, the frame being connected to the rear sideof the housing D by means of straps 8 projecting from the caster-wheelmountings and secured to the bottom reinforcing member 8 011 saidhousing. The construction described enables the housing D to move up anddown about the pivots F and to accommodate itself and the broom thereinto irregularities in the road or pavement.

The broom is mounted upon a shaft 9 the opposite ends of which aremounted in journal blocks 9 which are slidably mounted in verticalguides 10, at the opposite sides of the housing D. Each journal box ismounted on a rod 11, the upper ends of the rods eX- tending throughtransverse guide members 12. The rods are intended to be operated inunison to raise and lower the shaft 9 and the broom. For this purpose, Iprefer to use a transversely extending worm shaft 13 having worms 13thereon adapted to mesh with worm gears 11 on the rods 11, within theguide members 12. The left hand end of the shaft 9 is provided with apulley 9* for driv-' ing the same. I

For the purpose of facilitating the delivery of rubbish into the housingB, the lower front portion of the latter is made in the form of anarcuate dust pan 14, which extends from side to side of the forwardlyprojecting side extensions D of the housing D, said extensionsconstituting lower rear extensions of the housing B and having theirlower edges in close proximity to the road or pavement. The lower end ofthe dust pan is adapted to ride upon the grounder pavement and its upperend is secured to a plurality of brackets 15 carried by a rock shaft 16which is mounted in journals 17 carried by the rear transverse frame 18of the chassis (see Figs. 2 and The rock shaft is provided with anoperating arm 19 which is connected by a suit able cable 20 with thelower arm 21 of a lever, pivoted at the front of the housing B, asindicated at 22, the upper operating arm of the lever being indicated at21, in convenient po sition for operation by the driver. Should thesweeper be passing over an obstruction which it is undesirable that thedust pan should strike, or should it be desired to back the vehicle thepan may be swung upwardly out of theway by merely pulling upwardly onthe lever arm 21.

Within the housing Gris the fan G which draws up the dustladenair fromthe space within the housing B belowthe rear hopper H into the fanhousing and discharges the same into a distributing passage or chamber Jlocated above a series of dust-separating tubes K, the lower ends ofwhich are located above the hoppers H and H. The sides of the vehiclebody are provided with discharge openings or slots L located belowlouvers L. The tubes consist of thin but closely-woven cloth which willallow the air to pass through the meshes thereof, but which will "and H.The first mentioned hopper is the principal hopper and receives thegreater portion of the material delivered through the tubes K, thehopper H receiving the portion delivered through the front tubes. Thehopper sections are provided with a common in termediate bottom member HThe hopper H is provided witha door 24 and the hopper H with a door 25,respectively, which doors are adapted to be opened from time to time bymechanism and under conditions to be described hereinafter.

Adjacent the front of the housing B, the side members 7are connected bya transverse metal plate 26, the edges of the said plate beingstrengthened by means of angle irons 27 secured thereto. Deep angle ironbrackets 28 are secured to the plate 26 by flanges 28* and secured tothe said members by means of flanges 28", and brace the projecting endsof the-plate. This plate not only strengthens the chassis constructionbut provides a platform for cans or receptacles 29 which are insertibleinto and removable from the housing B. by means of an opening oropenings provided in the side or sides thereof and closed by a suitabledooror doors. The cans or receptacles 29 are arranged below the hopperH, the rear can or receptacle being shown directly beneathlthe upper endof an endless conveyor 31 which is so located as to receive heavierrefuse delivered thereto by the broom E and from the hopper H and todeliver such refuse into the said can or receptacle. This conveyor ismounted on suitable rollers 32 (driven by means to be describedhereinafter) and passes over upper intermediate supporting idle rollers33 and over lower idle rollers 34 and 3 Beneath the roller 35 is a lightcanvas apron 36 mounted upon a rod 36 the purpose of this apron being toprevent material being driven therebeyond by the broom should thedust-pan be raised, as by striking an obstruction.

The hopper doors 2& and 25 are normally retained closedby means of arms37 each adjustably secured to a rock shaft 38 by means of jaws 37 andbolts 37*. Each rock shaft is provided with an arm 39, the said armsbeing connected by a cable 40. Connected with. the front rock. shaft 33is an operating arm or lever 41. extendin in convenient relation to theseat M. A spring 22 is connected to the arm at the front of the hopper.extending through the door 25 forthis purpose,

and a like-spring 43is-connectedto anextension 37 of the arm 37whichcloses the rear door 2%. llhese springsservetohold in doorclosingposition the arms with which they respectively cooperate and to closethe doors when the driver releases the operating lever 41. The inner endof each arm 37 is provided with'a roller 4% (see Figs. 9 and 10) and theroller-provided end of each lever projects into a housing 45, secured tothe appropriate door, the'said housings being U-shaped in sectionand-each having its larger opening presented toward the shaft 38adjacent thereto.

Thebroom, the conveyor, and the fanare driven from the engine or crankshaft by -means of a power-takeoff located in front of the main clutchas well in front of the transmission gearing, enabling the said broom,conveyor, and fan to be driven irrespective of the movements of thetruck. To accomplish this result, the following con struction isprovideclz- Tlie pulley 23 on thefan 'shaft22 is driven by means of abelt 46 passing over a pulley 47. The pulley 9 on the broom shaft9 isdriven by a belt '18 passing 'over a pulley 49. The pulleys 47 and 49are mounted respectively on shafts 47 and 49* each having a sprocket 50and 51, respectively, thereon; and the driving roller 32 at the upperend of the conveyor 31 is provided with a shaft 32 having a sprocketthereon. These sprockets are driven by means of a transverse shaft 53having asprocket 54L thereon and a sprocket chain 55 extending aroundall of the said sprockets, the shaft thus driving the broom,convevor'and fan an d being itself driven from the engine shaftindependently of the main clutch and transmission gearing as will bepointed out hereinafter.

For the purpose of automatically taking in the slack of the belts 46and, 48, belt-tightening pulleys are provided. One of these pulleys 56is mounted on a lever 57 which is pivoted intermediate of its ends atand is adapted by upward movement of the lever arm 57 to against thelower reach of the belt 46. The other pulley 59 is mounted on one-arm 60of an angle lever which pi oted at 61 and which is adapted, by downwardmovement of the arm 66min press a eiainst the upper reach of the belt orrope 4-8. The other arms 57 and. 60* of these levers are con; nected bya snring'62 and rods 63 ccnnectinq the ends of the springs with the rnective lever arms 57 and 60. This con Q insures a non-slipping drivebetween the, belts 46 and 48 and their cooperating pnllevs.

Returning now to the manner of driving the broom, conveyor and fan fromthe engine shaft through the shaft 53, attention is invited to Fig. 6.In this view, the engine sh aft or crank shaft 1 extends into a housing64. This housing terminates in a bell-housing 65 containingthe fly-wheel66 and the ordinary clutch-67, at the rear of which is located thetransmission box 68 containing-the ordlnary shaft 7 2, the said shaftbeing provided with a gear 73, by means of which and asilent chain74,the shaft is driven fromithe shaft 1 through the gear 70. The parts 7O,71, 173 and Mare all mounted within the bell housing. denotes a shaft atthe rear of the shaft 7 2 and provided with a miter gear 76 which mesheswith a miter gear :77 on the shaft 53,the adjacent ends of the shafts 53and 7 5 and the miter gearsthereon being en closed within a housing 78which is fastened to the lower side'of the plate 26. 7 9 denotes aclutch for connecting the shafts i7 2 and '75,

the clutch being provided with a collar 80' which is operated by a rod81 pivoted at-one end to one of the side frames '7 and connected at itsother end by means of a link'82 with a lever 83 having its operating endin :convenient relation to the seat M.- It will'be evident that, byvirtue of the constructi'onzand arrangement of thepartsdescribed,thebroom, V

conveyor and fan can be driven from the engineshaft irrespective of themainclutch and transmission by means of whichathepropeller shaftis-operated.

The machine shown herein is intendedfor sweeping gutters and foroperating in close proximities to curbs. With that object in view, itwill be noted that all ofthe projecting parts are on the left or streetside ofthe considerable distance in front of the rear of the housing Band also in front of the-broom. A generally rectangular frame 18 issecured machine,'with the sole exception of the link to the rear ends ofthe side members 7, the

front member 8l-of such frame being secured to sald side members bymeans of gusset plates'85. The, rear member 86 of said frame carries theournals 17 for the rock shaft 16 while the front'member carries thebearings 87 for the studs or pins F which pivotally support the forwardends of the arms F. The downwardly and rearwardly extending side will bemembers of the rectangular frame are provided with bearings 91 for theshackles 92 which support the rear ends of the springs 93; also withbearings 94 for the roller 35; also with bearings 95 for the roller 32.The

rear member 86 is extended beyond the front member 84 at the right handside of the chassis, as indicated at 96. The opposite ends of the member86 carry the uprights 97 and 98 to which the rear vertical cornermembers of the housing B are secured; and an inwardly and forwardlyextending member 99 connects the upright 98 with the front member 84 ofthe frame, the member 99 being formed as a 'flange on the side member90. The inclinahand edge of the broom to operate in substantial contactwith curbs, thereby to sweep gutters in an efficient manner. This willbe apparent from Fig. 7, wherein the right hand side D of the broomhousing is shown as extending rearwardly from the vertical corner member100 which projects upwardly from the upright 98. g V I The plate 26, inaddition to forming the only intermediate cross member connecting thesaid members 7 and connecting the platform for the receptacles 29,constitutes a sup- .port for the front end of the housing B, the housingbeing supported from the four corners of the said plate by means of theangle irons 101 which form vertical posts, the said angle irons beingsecured to the housing and to the said plate.

VVit-h the parts constructed and arranged as described, it is believedthat the operation will be readily understood. Assuming that the engineis running, when it is desired to operate the sweeping mechanism it isnecessary only to operate the clutch 79 by the lever 83 to connect theshafts 7 2 and 75. This will drive the shaft 53 and, through the chain'55 and sprockets 50, 51, 52 and 54, will drive the fan, the broom, andthe endless conveyor 3L- The heavy refuse materialwill be delivered bythe broom upon the conveyor and will be conducted by the latter to oneor more of the receptacles 29. The lighter particles, suspended in theair, will be drawn into the fan casing C and forced by the fan G intothe'distributing chamber J. The air will be forced laterally through thetubes K and delivered, thoroughly cleansed, through the dischargeopenings L below the louvers L. The refuse material that was insuspension in such air will be collected by the tubes and dischargedinto-the" hoppers H and H. From time to time, as occasion may require,the doors 24 and 25 will be opened by the driver by operating the lever41. Material in the hopper H will be discharged directly into thereceptacle 29 therebeneath, while the material in the hopper H will bedischarged upon the conveyor and delivered by the latter into one ormore of the said receptacles.

By locating the power takeofi" for the fan, broom and conveyor, in frontof themain clutch 67 I am enabled to operate the sweeping and separatingmechanism at any time when the engine is running and irrespective ofwhether the truck is being driven as well as of the manner in which thesame is being driven. This is decidedly advantageous, and particularlywhere the matter to be cleaned is packed in such manner as to require alonger brushing operation than will be afforded by merely driving overthe particular spot or zone where such has accumulated. Furthermore, itpermits me to suspend the operation of the sweeping and separatingmechanism whenpassing over a street or section of street which hasalready been cleaned. It also makes it possible to operate the sweep ingand separating mechanism when the vehicle is being backed, as the fan,broom and conveyor are always operated in the same 'direction by reasonof the location of the power takeoff in-advance of the transmissiongear- 111 V i Should it be necessary or desirable to adjust the positionof the broom with reference to the road or pavement, this adjustmentcan' be conveniently and quickly obtained by means of the shaft 13. Thepurpose and advantages of the dust pan 14 and the manner of mounting thesame have been pointed out hereinbefore; so also have the purposes andadvantages of the belt-tightening mechanism and the offsetting of therear right hand side of the housing and broom, with the absence ofprojections on such side of the machine. I

It will be evident that by reason of the construction and arrangement ofparts shown and described herein, I have produced s a machine, which iseasily and conveniently operable, which is capable of cleaning streetsin an efiicient manner, and which will meet and withstand all ordinaryincidents of use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In astreet-sweeping machine, the combination, with a chassis having drivingwheels, of an engine on said chassis, a shaft driven by said engine,means including a clutch and transmission gearing for operating thedriving wheels from the said shaft, a housing on said chassis, a broomcarried'by the chassis and arranged to sweep refuse into said housing,air-moving means in said housing, a shaft additional to the first shaft,driving connections between the second shaft and the said broom andair-moving means, and

connections for driving the second shaft from the first shaft, the saidconnections being arranged in front of the clutch and transmissiongearing whereby the broom and the airmoving means may be operatedirrespective of the movements of the said machine.

2. In a street-sweeping machine, the con bination, with a chassis havinga housing thereon, an engine and driving wheels, a shaft driven by saidengine, means including a clutch and transmission gearing for operatingthe driving wheels from the said shaft, a broom arranged to deliverrefuse into said housing, air-moving means and dust-separating means insaid housing, a conveyor arranged to receive refuse from said broom, ashaft additional to the first shaft, driving connections between thesecond shaft and the said broom, the conveyor, and the air-moving means,and power take-off mechanism connecting the second shaft with the firstshaft in front of the said clutch and transmission gearing whereby thebroom, the conveyor and the air-moving means may be operated from thefirst shaft irrespective of the movements of the said machine.

3. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a chassis havingdriving wheels and a housing, of an engine on said chassis having ashaft, means including a clutch and transmission gearing for operatingthe driving wheels from the said shaft, a shaft additional to the firstmentioned shaft and the wheel-operating means, a broom for deliveringrefuse into said housing, air-moving and dust-separating means in saidhousing, power take-off mechanism connecting the second shaft with thefirst shaft in advance of the said clutch and transmission gearing, andmeans, including a clutch, for driving the said broom and the saidair-moving means from the second shaft.

l. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a chassis havinga housing and driving wheels, of an engine mounted 011 said chassis andhaving a shaft, means including a clutch and transmission gearing foroperating the driving wheels from said shaft, aire moving means carriedby the said chassis, street-sweeping means adapted to deliver refuseinto said housing, a conveyor for refuse in said housing, a shaftadditional to the first shaft and the connections for operating thedriving wheels, power takeoff mechanism connecting the second shaft withthe first shaft in front of the said clutch and transmission gearing, ashaft additional to the first two shafts, driving connections betweenthe last mentioned shaft and the said conveyor and the said sweeping andair forcing means, and means including a clutch for driving the lastmentioned shaft from the second shaft.

5. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a chassis havinga housing and driving wheels, of an engine mounted on said chassis andhaving a shaft extending rearwardly from said engine, a bell housingintowhich said shaft extends, a fiywheel on-said shaft within-said-bellhousing, means includ' ing a clutch and transmission mechanism'for.

operating. the driving wheels fromthe; said shaft, a shaft having oneend journaled in the bell housing, driving connections, also located insaid bell housing. and in front of said clutch, for driving the secondshaft from the first shaft, a third shaft, dust-separating means carriedby said chassis in said housing, sweeping and air-moving means alsocarried by the said chassis in saidhousing, connections for driving thesaid sweeping and airmoving means from the last mentionedshaft, andmeans including a clutch for driving the last mentioned shaft from thesecondxshaft.

6. Ina street-sweeping machine, the' combination, with a chassis having.driving wheels, of anengine mounted'on saidcliassis and having a shaft,a bell housinginto which said shaft extends, means including a clutchand transmission mechanism for operating the driving wheels from thesaid shaft, journal bearings at one side of said housing, a shaft havingone end mounted in saidbear ings and extending rearwardly therefrom, agear on the first shaft in said housing, a gear on the second shaftbetween the bearings in said housing, a chain in said housing connectingsaid gears, the first gear being. located in front of said clutch,sweeping and air moving means carried by the said chassis, andconnections for driving the said sweeping and air-moving means from thesecond shaft.

7. In a street sweeping machine, the combination with a chassis havingdriving wheels, of an engine carried by said chassis and having a crankshaft, a rearwardly'extending drive shaft for said wheels, a clutchforming a driving connection between said engine crankshaft and saiddrive shaft and including a transmission, a housing on said'chassis,a'broom arranged within said housing and disposed so as to sweep refusewithin said housing, air moving means connected with said housing andincluding a shaft for operating the same, driving connections forsaidbroom and air moving means, said driving connections being arranged inadvanceofsaid clutch and directly connected with said" crank shaftwhereby the broomand air moving means may be operated entirelyindependent of said clutch, transmission and drive shaft. 7

8. In a street sweeping machine, the combination with a chassis havingdriving wheels,

s of an engine having acrank shaft, means including a clutch, atransmission and a drive shaft for driving said wheels from said engine,a housing carried by said chassis, a shaft j ournaled in said housingand having a broom thereon, air moving means communicating with saidhousing, a counter shaft disposed parallel with said crank shaft andoperatively connected with said broom shaft and air moving means, and apositive direct driving connection between said crank shaft and countershaft whereby said broom and air moving means are operated entirelyindependent of said clutch, transmission and drive shaft.

9. The combination, with a chassis having driving wheels, of an engineon said chassis, d a crank shaft driven by said engine, means includinga clutch and transmission for operating the driving wheels from saidcrank shaft, a countershaft extending subtsantially parallel with thecrank shaft, mechanism carried by said chassis and connections fordriving said mechanism from said countershaft, a driving connectionbetween said crank shaft and the countershaft in advance of said clutchand transmission, a housing enclosing 2 said driving connection andhaving bearings for the adjacent endof the countershaft, a housingconstituting an extension of the first mentioned housing and enclosingthe clutch and transmission and having its open front 5' end registeringwith an opening in the rear of the first housing, and a partitioninterposed between said housings and constituting a bearing for theportion of the crank shaft adjacent the clutch and separating thedriving connections between the crank shaft and the counter shaft fromthe clutch and transmis sion. 7

10. The combination, with a chassis having driving wheels, of an engineincluding a crank case and a crank shaft therein mounted on saidchassis, a fly Wheel on said crank shaft, a housing attached to saidcrank case and enclosing the fly wheel, a closure for said housingthrough which an extension of the m crank shaft extends, a transmission,a clutch connecting the crank-shaft extension and the transmission, asecond housing enclosing the transmission and the clutch and attached tothe first mentioned housing, a propeller shaft connecting thetransmission and the driving wheels, a countershaft extending into thefirst-mentioned housing, driving connec tions between the crank shaftand the countershaft for constantly driving the same with the crankshaft, the said connections being within the first-mentioned housing andinterposed between the fly wheel and the clutch, mechanism carried bysaid chassis, and driving connections including a clutch between "saidmechanism and said countershaft.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

EDWVARD T. BIRDSALL.

